


Red Letter Day

by voxinverse



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: Deucalion - Freeform, F/F, Military, Romance, Spaceships, semi-canonical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 09:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3170177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voxinverse/pseuds/voxinverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been nineteen months since the Martian invasion, and the UFE Deucalion is set once again to lift off in defense of Earth. However, the ship's Captain and first officer still have one day left to reconcile past feelings before they fly off into battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Letter Day

In days long past, they would have called it "the ship of dreams".

 

For now, the name _Deucalion_ would suffice.

 

Darzana Magbaredge surveyed the massive vessel under her command from afar, the sea breeze gently blowing her hazel hair to and fro as she stood on the jetty. It was the namesake of the son of Prometheus, ancient mythological progenitor of humanity. And while Magbaredge found that using the name of the Martian Kataphrakt the ship's Aldnoah drive was taken from a bit morbid, the title was fitting. The  _Deucalion_ had saved them all; allowing humanity to ride through the terrible flood of the Vers invasion like Deucalion's great ark of yore. 

 

"Captain." 

 

Magbaredge turned, meeting the source of the familiar voice near her with a smile. Commander Kaoru Mizusaki met the Captain's eyes, control and presence contained within those dark orbs. In her outstretched hand she urgently held a datapad, information flowing downwards on its crystal screen. 

 

"The preliminary Aldnoah drive readouts are looking promising, ma'am. We just might meet our launch window on time tomorrow." Mizusaki said, placing her hands behind her back officially after handing over the pad. 

 

Magbaredge scanned the data, indeed promising and very hopeful. It was hard to believe nineteen months had passed already, the  _Deucalion_ having undergone a complete repair and refit in that amount of time. She sat in her sea birth by this calm beach town, her red and black bow preening above the water as if she was an animal yearning to be free of its cage. 

 

But they still had one more day here in this sleepy seaside burg, and it seemed as if the entire crew was aiming to make the most of it. 

 

"My faith in you was well-placed as always, Mizusaki. Send a message to the engine room crews and let them know to continue full-power tests as we approach the launch window tomorrow." Magbaredge said, handing back the datapad to her executive officer. 

 

"Of course, ma'am." Mizusaki said, snapping off a sharp salute. Magbaredge returned it in kind, turning on her heel once again to take in the massive ship off in the distance. 

 

It was only after a full minute that Magbaredge realized she wasn't alone. Turning once again, Magbaredge furrowed her brow as she realized Mizusaki had not left and was standing in the same spot, datapad clutched in both hands and looking towards her feet as she shuffled them. 

 

"Something else you need, Mizusaki?" Magbaredge asked commandingly, quirking a sharp eyebrow. 

 

"Captain Magbaredge, I..." Mizusaki trailed off, redness starting to become more pronounced on her cheeks. Magbaredge sensed the tension and stepped slightly closer, softening her tone and attempting to coax whetever it was out of her subordinate. 

 

"What is it, Kaoru?" Magbaredge plied, using Mizusaki's given name for added effect. 

 

"Well, Captain...I-I was planning on going into town for the rest of the day and, well...I was hoping you could join me." Mizusaki finished shakily, clutching the datapad tightly to her chest and looking up at Magbaredge earnestly. 

 

Magbaredge felt an uncharacteristic warmth spread through her body almost instantly. She and Mizusaki had always been close, even for a Captain and her XO. Some might even say too close, but Magbaredge preferred it that way. She had always liked and respected Mizusaki, but...this was a new level of familiarity that intrigued and exhilarated Magbaredge. 

 

"Certainly, Commander." Magbaredge said, reaching out and grasping Mizusaki's shoulder fondly. Mizusaki smiled, probably a bit more than she intended, but that was fine. 

 

Magbaredge did the same. 

 

\---

 

They had come a long way together since the  _Wadatsumi_ . 

 

The United Earth Navy assault ship had been Magbaredge and Mizusaki's home for several tours, their entire journey ending with a bang at Tanegashima almost twenty months ago. Even now Magbaredge remembered how she looked forward to Mizusaki's face every morning, her always-reliable aide and executive officer ever-present to steer her in the right direction. Even when Magbaredge was making bold decisions, Mizusaki was there to be the voice of reason. Perhaps this chemistry was why they had remained together for this long...

 

As Magbaredge amusingly watched Mizusaki peruse through a stand selling chocolates, it all seemed so far away. The war, the ship, all of their worries. Perhaps the thoughts dominating Magbaredge's mind now were what was distracting her: how Mizusaki's skin looked in the midday sun, how her shorts hugged her lower half just right as she leaned over to closely examine the stall's wares, how perfect her black bob haircut looked...

 

The captain shook her head, flinging the uncouth thoughts from her mind. Despite the informality of the situation, and despite how surprisingly accepting Magbaredge was about the entire arrangement, these thoughts could not be allowed to fester. She instead chose to sidle up next to Mizusaki, examining what had engrossed the younger woman so. Mizusaki held up a heart-shaped box of chocolates quizzically, flipping the box end over end in her hands. 

 

"Captain, I'm afraid I don't understand the purpose of these..." Mizusaki began before trailing off in her own thought. 

 

"Mizusaki. Shall I tell you why you can't get a date?" Magbaredge said jovially, placing her hands on her hips as she smiled. She always used this joke, waiting for the day Mizusaki would grow tired of it. So far that day had not yet come, and Magbaredge had been grateful. Mizusaki looked up at the captain slowly, an uncharacteristic grin played across her features like it was painted there by an errant artist. 

 

"But Captain, I have gotten a date. I'm on one right now." Mizusaki said, rustling the chocolates in their box as she met Magbaredge's eyes. Magbaredge's face grew red hot, looking away and shuffling her feet in an uncharacteristic show of bashfulness. She was right; despite their formal situation as Captain and XO, Mizusaki had asked the Captain on a date. And she had said yes gladly, knowing full well the conotation of their outing. 

 

"Mm, a-ah yes...you're quite right..." Magbaredge mumbled, staring off at some intriguing display across the way in the bustling market. 

 

"Well, Kaoru. If this is a date, then there's no sense in using rank or formality here, is there?" Magbaredge asked mischievously, playing to Mizusaki's obvious weakness in the exact same manner. It was very difficult for her to be so informal. Looking back up at Magbaredge and nearly dropping her chocolates, Mizusaki blushed again before nodding. 

 

"Of course, C-Cap-I mean...D-Darzana..." She stammered, Magbaredge snorting in amusement. She was seeing Mizusaki in an entirely new light, and despite the amount of jokes Magbaredge had made at the expense of her love life over the years, she was glad Mizusaki's first date in such a long time was with her. 

 

Placing her hand in the small of Mizusaki's back, Magbaredge relished in the shiver that ran down the younger woman's spine at her touch. Magbaredge smirked, pulling Mizusaki closer as the market bustled around them. 

 

"Come, Kaoru. Let's get some chow, I'm starving." She said, relishing in Mizusaki's glazed-over eyes as she smiled sheepishly. 

 

"Of course, Darzana." 

 

It was still formal, but she had used her given name. It was a start.

 

\---

 

They sat on a park bench together, Magbaredge and Mizusaki, and watched the sun set far off behind where the  _Deucalion_ sat in its berth. They were nestled in a secluded hillside park about a half-mile from the beach, just close enough to hear the crashing of the waves tinted orange and red by the sun's waning rays. Mizusaki nestled under Magbaredge's outstretched arm, black-haired head nestled into the older woman's shoulder. 

 

"Mizusaki..." Magbaredge sighed, glancing down at the serene form of her executive officer. 

 

"Yes?" Mizusaki answered softly. 

 

"This can't last...you know that, right?" Magbaredge said, looking way off into the distance at nothing in particular, her brows furrowing. Mizusaki looked sad temporarily, burying her head even further into her captain's shoulder as Magbaredge traced circles on her arm with her thumb. 

 

"Yes, Darzana...tomorrow we will fly off into the unknown, both of us with massive responsibilities on our shoulders. You will be the Captain, and I your executive officer, as it always has been. But..." Mizusaki stated plainly before trailing off.

 

"But?" Magbaredge asked inquisitively, quirking an eyebrow. 

 

"But I will always have the memory of today...the day I spent with you." She finished, smiling warmly up at Magbaredge. 

 

"D-Darzana...I lov-" Mizusaki began, before she was silenced. 

 

Magbaredge pressed her lips to Mizusaki's, holding the kiss for as long as they both might dare. Mizusaki felt the clutch of Magbaredge's hand on her arm, Magbaredge the caress of Mizusaki's soft hand upon her cheek. They separated, if only just to breathe, a small string of saliva still connecting their mouths like a silvery spider's web. Magbaredge smiled down at Mizusaki's reddened face, smiling sadly. 

 

"Tell me again...when all this is over." She said, kissing Mizusaki on the cheek softly. 

 

"D-Darzana..." Mizusaki whispered, the only sound present that of the waves crashing on the beach and the pounding of their hearts. 

 

As the sun shone its last rays on their last day of leisure, Darzana and Kaoru's perch became more and more shrouded in shadow. As the cicadas of summer began to die out and the sound of the night's population of crickets took their place, Kaoru sat upon Darzana's lap, both of them relishing the feeling of their bodies against one another. This was a long time coming for the both of them, and as they began to remove hindering articles of clothing, they threw caution to the wind and cosummated their one night of freedom together with wild abandon. 

 

Tomorrow, things would return to the way they were, and the two women would once again have mountains of duties to perform and perils to face down. 

 

Right now, though? Right now they had each other. 

 


End file.
